Wednesday Apr 16, 2014

What do Sigma, a Leadership class and a
webcast have in common? They’ve all created ideas that are
swirling around in my head! Let me start from the beginning. I was
sitting in on a leadership class for midlevel leaders, listening to a
conversation about competing priorities and how to address them.
Last week I listened to a web-cast that suggested leaders should
create a “Do Not Do” list. I’m also exploring some ideas
around transitioning to a leadership role and what an individual needs to
do differently.

I struggled a bit with a “Do Not Do”
list because it just seems a bit negative, and then my Sigma training
kicked in and I thought of a great exercise we used to do…and I
think it might work for new leaders, or really anyone who’s taking
on a new role. It’s a simple Start-Stop-Continue exercise
to identify behaviors and actions that you need to address.

Here’s how you do it. Take a piece
of paper and draw three columns on it. At the top of one column,
write Start; in the next column write Stop and in the
last column write Continue. Then, close your eyes and really
think about your new role - imagine what it will look like if done very successfully. If you’re a first time leader, you’ll
want to think about how your leadership role is going to be different
from your individual contributor role. If you’re a midlevel
leader, you’ll want to consider the difference between managing
people and managing managers. And if you’re an individual
contributor, you might want to review your development plan and think
about what your goals are for the future.

Now, open your eyes and write down
those behaviors or actions that you need to Start doing in
your new role. Continue to write down behaviors and actions that you
need to Stop doing and then Continue doing. Now, take
a good look at your list. Will your role or development be
negatively impacted if you stop anything on the Stop list?
Will your role or development be positively impacted by those things
on the Start or Continue list?

If you have so many things on each list
that you feel overwhelmed, try prioritizing the list. This may
require a conversation with your manager!! You might ask questions
like:

When
choosing to continue a behavior/activity, what can I do to be more effective in that behavior/activity?

What behaviors or activities do
the best leaders I know exhibit? Are those on my list?

What have I said I would never do
as a leader? Are those on my Stop list?

This list could end up being your
friend – it can feed into your development plans; it can help you
prioritize your work; it can help clarify your role. If you choose
to do this, I would make two suggestions. First, share your list
with your manager to get his or her input. He or she might have some
ideas that could provide a clearer focus for you. Second, keep your
list and pull it out every quarter to review. This is a great way to
determine if you’re modifying your actions and behaviors the way
you want or intended.

Hopefully something like this can help
keep you on track when changing roles!